Wouldn’t it be interesting if the software detection companies also owned the essay writing companies ?
Um, what?! In what kind of world do students even think of this as being an option? I could barely even get through that article – so many of the quotes were so ridiculous they almost seemed fake, but the worst thing is that students actually think that way.
“Some paper have to be six to ten pages long”? Writing skills “aren’t a defining factor”? She “applauds” cheaters (not just turns a blind eye, but literally approves)? Yeah, writing is hard, but welcome to life, people!
But don’t worry, it’s ok “because everyone is doing it.” Um, no, and I don’t think that sentence has ever been the right answer to anything. Talk about people who can’t even; I’m struggling to comprehend the idiocy and entitlement of what I just read.
On the other hand, I don’t really like the idea of software companies hyper analyzing so much data about my paper, like when I wrote it. I’m fine with regular Turnitin, but that’s a little much imo. And what about students who genuinely alter their writing style between papers?
I know snitches get stiches, but if I heard a classmate say they used one of those companies, I would 100% turn them in.
On the flip side I’ve read of cases where students were accused of plagiarism but it was in fact their own original work.
@gwnorth While it has happened, many of those stories are based on the self justification of entitled students who were caught cheating. However, there are cases where the accusations of plagiarism have racist backgrounds - the student is accused of plagiarism because an instructor cannot believe that a minority student can write well.
Still, those cases are few compared to the widespread use of plagiarism. What the article does not mention is just how common it is for the upper administration to pressure faculty to allow it to happen, because they care more about maintaining enrollment than about maintaining academic standards and integrity. It’s the corporate “customer service” view of academia, in which the job of the faculty is to keep the students happy and entertained, and most importantly, enrolled and paying tuition.
In this view, the costumer is always right, of course, and in any conflict between costumer and employee, the costumer wins. Enforcing academic integrity is not consistent with “the customer is always right”, so guess which of the two determines the response of a Dean or Provost to violations of academic integrity?
BTW, that is one of the main reasons behind the erosion of tenure. Tenure and shared governance are not compatible with a corporate “costumer centered” view of academia. In this vision of academia, faculty are employees and the administration are the “bosses”. So bosses should always have the ability to fire employees without the need for justification, bosses should also be the only ones to have the power to make employment decisions, and employees should never be able to determine corporate policy.
Somebody posing as a parent on my son’s FB college parents group actually offered an essay writing service. And wasn’t immediately removed from the group or reported.
Sad. Very sad, is all I can say.
Someone was smart enough to start a business and make money from these kids who are too busy playing games, drinking, partying etc to do the work themselves. The kids who buy this service can still have fun and maintain a good gpa, so it is a win-win for everyone.
Wouldn’t it be interesting if the ghostwriter turned out to be the student’s professor ?
I think one of the articles referenced the fact that several of the companies were located in Ukraine and India. And the professor who posed as a student noted that most of the essays were gibberish. Surprised that the students didn’t even look at the final product. Too hung over from partying I suppose.
@collegehuh Well, except for the students who are actually working hard and lose out awards to students whose work was done by somebody else. Then there are the people who suffer when they are dependent on a student actually knowing stuff that he never learned, but got a B on in college. Of course the college which gets a reputation of producing kids with degrees who cannot do basic tasks. Oh, there are also the kids themselves who will learn that they do not have to do anything but live off the work of others. I mean, what a wonderful life philosophy - rich people get the benefits, and poor people do the actual work for a fraction of the benefits that their work provides for the rich people.
So, I guess it’s a win-win-win-win, with the rich kid who pays other to do their work doing all of that “winning”.
@mwolf So you think people shouldn’t start a business because there is going to be poor people who can’t afford the service from the business? Poor people can’t afford tutoring or take extra classes to prepare for their ACT/SAT tests while middle and rich class people are able to pay for those classes. So there is a win win situation, the kids get higher scores and the tutors make money.
The businesses are there, but that doesn’t mean you have to buy it. The same can be said about illegal drugs, weed, alcohol, gambling etc. You might think it is wrong to smoke crack, inject heroin etc., while others have no problems with it.
Just like going to colleges. Rich kids can afford to go to the top elite universities without taking out a loan, while the poor and middle class have to take out loans. So the poor and middle class can make the decision to go to that top elite college or go somewhere cheaper.
It was rumored that a couple of kids at my D’s former school used companies that actually wrote the kids’ college application essays for them. I don’t see the difference between paying someone to write your application essay and paying someone to take the SAT for you. IMO, they are both fraud. And I don’t see the difference between paying someone to write your college application essay and your English 101 essay.
Apparently one of the athletic coaches caught up in the admissions scandal had team members write his papers for the graduate degree he was pursuing. That’s a whole different essay writing business.
You realize that you are making the arguments that:
- Because it is difficult for poor kids to get into college, we should make it easier for rich kids to succeed in college
- Because it is not fair that rich people can buy better SAT/ACT grades and access to elite universities, we should also allow them to buy higher grades while they’re at those universities.
@mwolf You can interpret my statements anyway you want. CC is not a debate forum so I don’t see why you want to start an argument. I am just stating that a business is there and people can either buy their service or not.
The people “buying their services” are cheating and committing fraud. IMO, it is like faking SAT scores or pretending to be an athlete when you aren’t. These kids should be expelled when caught.
But @momofsenior1 there is no problem in pretending that you did something that you didn’t do, right? I mean Singer was smart enough to start a business and make money from these parents, whose kids didn’t actually want to play sports, so it was a win-win.
Anyone who buys these services is doing the wrong thing and committing fraud. God forbid people actually do work for once…if kids don’t have time to do a big essay or are having trouble writing a paper, then maybe they need to talk to their teacher or learn to manage their time better. It’s really sad how some people have no morals…
@MWolf He was stupid…starting a business to help people lie and do the wrong thing. Yeah, he made money, but that doesn’t make it right. The kids didn’t want to play sports…boo hoo, find another extracurricular instead of lying!
@natty1988 I was being sarcastic…